Doomsday Spiritual Artifact Master
chapter-127-1

Chapter 127.1 – Life-and-Death Marathon (18)

◎ Song Keke, he grabbed my hand hard ◎

It’s said that children’s words are without reservation, and Xu Xing’s words left the two people opposite him stunned.

Yin Xiao’s thumb pressed on the outside of the gun body, the calloused index finger hooked the cylinder. With both hands simultaneously maneuvering the gun through a dizzying series of movements, the two slender ‘Hellcat’ pistols were effortlessly returned to their holsters strapped to his thighs, almost as if they were toys.

“Kid,” Yin Xiao raised his chin, his sharp gaze fixed on Xu Xing, “Words carry responsibility. Besides this guy, did you personally witness any other mutant zombies in Haimen?”

“It, it was already… um…” Xu Xing swallowed hard, shifted slightly toward Song Ke, the captain of the “Tustan” team, who had suddenly become imposing, exuding a different aura altogether.

“…Just over thirty of them passed by just now,” Xu Xing muttered under his breath.

“Ah! Ah!” Braided Head jumped excitedly, emitting a low growl from deep within its throat.

“If not your brother, how about catching other bad ones?” Xu Xing whispered to it, “Or those who constantly bully you, ones you dislike? Let’s ‘kill with a borrowed knife’ and take the opportunity to get rid of them!”

“…” Braided Head hesitated, hands folded together, clearly making a “thinking” gesture. Given its intelligence, it couldn’t understand what “kill with a borrowed knife” meant or handle such complex “relationship between zombies.”

Yin Xiao looked somewhat surprised, “Can this kid communicate with mutant zombies?”

Song Ke nodded solemnly, “Hmm,” acknowledging that Xiao Xing’s talent was indeed quite extraordinary.

“Your client specifically asked for you to catch Braided Head?” Song Ke inquired proactively.

“Not particularly.” Yin Xiao shrugged, hands in his pockets, leaning against the wall casually. He could already anticipate what Song Ke was going to say, as He Qiuhong’s only request was to “capture a mutant zombie.”

“Oh, in that case, I’ll take care of this one, you go catch others.”

Following his lead, Song Ke flicked open a butterfly knife with her thumb, swiftly spinning it. The sharp blade vibrated like the wings of a butterfly at high frequency, almost grazing against the skin of her fingertips. One wrong move could sever a finger. Song Ke performed a flashy set of maneuvers, then with a ‘click,’ she sheathed the knife.

Then she lifted her head, her eyes shining like stars, calmly gazing back at Yin Xiao, as if to say, ‘Whatever it is, I can handle it too.’

Far from feeling threatened, Yin Xiao felt an itching sensation in his mind, as if scratched by a cat’s paw.

Despite the calm negotiation between the two, neither dared to relax, knowing that any disagreement might lead to another altercation.

“If I go after others,” Yin Xiao smiled, “Captain Song, will you still intervene?”

“Not today,” came Song Ke’s calm reply.

The battle in Haimen had evolved into a bloodbath between zombies and humans. The Fallen, by choosing to open the iron gate, had positioned themselves against humanity. They were the culprits behind the current brutal situation, and she had no reason to stop Yin Xiao.

A hint of amusement flashed in Yin Xiao’s eyes as he nodded slowly, “Then I’ll have to put in more effort and change my target.”

The terminal vibrated, and Song Ke glanced down to see a gathering notification sent by Zhuang Qingyan, not far from their location.

“Xiao Xing, let’s go,” she called to Xu Xing.

Xu Xing obediently followed but turned and earnestly advised Braided Head, “Don’t wander off this time, it’s safer to stay with us.”

Just a couple of steps away, Song Ke suddenly turned around, noticing Yin Xiao following them step by step.

She tilted her head, her eyes clearly saying, ‘Didn’t you say you were going after something else?’

Having just sent the message, Yin Xiao, catching her expression, smiled in response, “Captain Song, my intuition has always been accurate.”

“Rather than aimlessly searching for the next mutant zombie within the city, I believe my chances of completing the mission are greater by following you.”

“Before that, you can use me as a helper.”

Song Ke shook her head. At that moment, she seemed to possess divine wisdom, seeing through Yin Xiao’s true intentions. “You don’t trust us.”

Yin Xiao hadn’t seen any other Fallen. If Xu Xing had lied just now, and if Song Ke and he had teamed up to deceive him, if he had believed them and there were no other Fallen, he would have fallen into their trap. Therefore, the Yin Xiao would undoubtedly follow them. If there were indeed other Fallen, he could fulfill the task. If not, he would still target Braided Head.

“Better to be cautious,” Yin Xiao calmly replied.

…

Zhuang Qingyan and Lu Xiaoyu had been waiting at the gathering point for a while when Lin Youyou and the other three quickly arrived to join them.

“The situation outside the city has temporarily stabilized. The zombie tide can’t break through, but Haimen’s ammunition is depleting rapidly,” Lin Youyou said, her face displaying concern. “Yan Biao has requested reinforcements from several nearby C Districts, but we don’t know how long they’ll take to arrive.”

“The checkpoint in Haimen has yet to appear,” Su Cha timely reminded.

“The checkpoint is related to the Zombie King,” Zhuang Qingyan affirmed.

As they were discussing, Song Ke and Xu Xing arrived, followed by Braided Head and a familiar young man.

“What’s going on? Who’s this?” Lin Youyou asked in surprise.

Song Ke sighed and explained to her teammates about the encounter with Yin Xiao.

Yin Xiao stood directly in front of Zhuang Qingyan, pondered for a moment, and took the initiative to greet him.

“I’m Yin Xiao, captain of the ‘Tustan’ awakener team from the Northern Base.”

“Zhuang Qingyan,” came Zhuang Qingyan’s cold reply.

“Oh, so you’re the ‘Zhuang Qingyan,'” Yin Xiao’s tone carried a meaningful undertone.

During Song Ke’s conversation with Gao Xiangyang, he had also been present, having heard about seventy to eighty percent of their chat. In his eyes, the current Zhuang Qingyan was nothing more than a despicable “thief” who stole genetic information, with suspicion of undergoing plastic surgery to alter appearances.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Yin Xiao’s face bore a fake smile as he extended his right hand.

“Right,” Zhuang Qingyan shook his hand.

Yin Xiao raised an eyebrow, his grip suddenly tightening to ninety percent strength.

The instantaneous explosive power of a top-notch sniper was not to be underestimated. If it were an ordinary person encountering such terrifying force, their joints would have been crushed.

Zhuang Qingyan’s joints made a ‘crackling’ sound. He stayed silent for a moment before turning to complain, “Song Keke, he grabbed my hand hard.”

Yin Xiao: “…?”

Aren’t we having a competition here between men? You’re giving up before the match even begins? What happened to your pride?

Song Ke walked over, expressionless, and slapped away Yin Xiao’s hand, then lifted Zhuang Qingyan’s hand to inspect. There was a hint of redness on the back of his hand.

Zhuang Qingyan’s long lashes drooped down, his left hand resting neatly on his knee, his tightly pursed lips revealing a hint of grievance.

“His health isn’t good,” Song Ke glanced at Yin Xiao, her eyes filled with reproach. “Don’t bully him.”

“?!” Yin Xiao chuckled, amused.

Having grown up in the Northern Base receiving elite education, he adhered to the concept of “strength is paramount.” For the first twenty-six years of his life, he lived freely and uninhibitedly, utterly ignorant of the “tea art culture” from the ancient civilization period, let alone aware of the existence of the rare breed known as the “male green tea.”

Completely unaware of the undercurrents between the two, Song Ke earnestly asked her companions, “Where do you think the Fallen might go?”

Lin Youyou contemplated for a moment, “Haimen has issued warnings, and all outposts are on high alert. If the Fallen try to repeat their old tricks and open the iron gate, wouldn’t it be too difficult?”

“The Zombie King, what instructions did he give you?” Zhuang Qingyan paused, turning to address Braided Head.

“?” Braided Head was startled, behaving like a student who hadn’t paid attention in class and suddenly got called upon to answer a question. It scratched its head for a while, paced around, hesitated, then finally pointed in a direction, indicating it would lead Song Ke and the others.

“Let’s go and see,” Zhuang Qingyan said in a low voice. “Be cautious.”

Braided Head took a few steps, stopped to think, struggled to recall the details it had missed while slacking off, ran a few more steps, and led the group through a series of twists and turns to the outside of the second line of defense—a remote substation. There, it stopped.

“Why did you bring us here, Braided Head?” Xu Xing asked curiously.

“Ah, ah, ah! Ah, ah…” Braided Head wailed, its expression conveying a range of emotions, but unfortunately, no one could understand.

“Someone’s here,” Su Cha warned, breaking the silence.

Everyone immediately quieted down, focusing on observing the surrounding environment.

Su Cha silently pointed in a certain direction, and a few figures dressed in staff uniforms flashed past.

Moving slowly, their shoulders swaying uncontrollably, it was another group of Fallen!

“Chase them,” Song Ke whispered.

The group hurriedly followed, passing through layers of high-voltage wires and opening the door to a distribution room.

In the pitch-black surroundings, in the quiet air, heavy breathing could faintly be heard.

“Click—” Su Cha turned on the flashlight, and the bright beam illuminated the room, revealing hundreds of Level 2 zombies crammed inside!

Squeezed into the small room, their dark eyeballs enlarged due to the strong light, they roared and lunged forward in response to the stimulation.

“Run!!”

The eight of them streamed out, with a horde of zombies hot on their heels. When did there suddenly become so many evolved zombies within Haimen City?!

Xu Xing spun around the electrical poles, continuously releasing ice shards. Lu Xiaoyu’s six arms moved in unison, weaving a net-like data flow that flew out. Su Cha protected Lin Youyou and Fang Zhixu, swiftly spreading a green toxic mist. Suddenly, lightning-fast, he struck at the neck of a zombie attempting to ambush them from behind. Even Zhuang Qingyan wore a serious expression, mentally attacking the zombies without holding back.

Song Ke manifested a nearly three-meter-long staff, sweeping through the crowd of hungry, roaring zombies creating distance between them and the group.

Meanwhile, Yin Xiao leaped to the top of the electrical pole, rapidly firing his dual pistols, each shot bursting zombie heads and splattering their brain matter.

These were all Level 2 zombies, and with V587’s strength, they could handle them given enough time. However, the number of zombies was overwhelming and excessively dense. If they were accidentally injured by the zombies and triggered a secondary radiation mutation, the consequences would be unimaginable.

At that moment, several hover cars swiftly approached, their windows lowering as a dozen oil guns extended from within.

“Hey! People below, find a place to hide yourselves!!”

“Come in!” Song Ke acted quickly, grabbing the electrical pole and transforming it into a massive umbrella, spreading it open. Its eight umbrella bones formed a tent-like structure, instantly creating a safe zone.

The V587 members quickly took shelter inside, barely any space remaining.

The farthest from them, Yin Xiao executed an extreme leap, rolling into the umbrella at the critical moment. He seamlessly blended in with the other seven members, squished in tightly. He winked at Song Ke, a playful gesture that carried a certain sense of charm. “How’s that…”

Zhuang Qingyan remained expressionless as his wheelchair slid forward, “accidentally” landing on Yin Xiao’s military boot.

Yin Xiao’s expression twisted.

Song Ke: “?” What’s with this guy? How’s what?